GDT: 2022-23 season game 50 LA Kings vs Philadelphia Flyers @4:00pm 1/24/23

[Master Yoda]

I like Byfield, but the "Ummm, you know..." over and over was making me dizzy after 20 seconds

It must be the low hockey IQ

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

That's why the loss of Faber doesn't bother me much.

How could it bother you at all? He’s not played one second in the NHL.

 

[YAYSAY]

How could it bother you at all? He’s not played one second in the NHL.

Lol always gotta find something don't you. It doesn't actually bother me, although he is a great prospect and hopefully will have a great career. But I was always a supporter of the trade, however I know other people here have qualms about it so I worded it in such a way that allows for amicable discussion.

 

[King'sPawn]

Lol always gotta find something don't you. It doesn't actually bother me, although he is a great prospect and hopefully will have a great career. But I was always a supporter of the trade, however I know other people here have qualms about it so I worded it in such a way that allows for amicable discussion.

Sorry, you aren't supposed to do it that way.

So far, the trade looks great. And it's easy to like the trade. Fiala's ability is realized right now.

It will be interesting to see how the first round pick and Faber get realized down the road, which has been the biggest question.

 

[HookKing]

I like Byfield, but the "Ummm, you know..." over and over was making me dizzy after 20 seconds

He must spend a lot of time watching old video. Back in the mid-to-late seventies virtually every single interview with athletes was exactly the same. Then somehow by the 80's it just disappeared.

 

[lumbergh]

You guys are hilarious as usual. I'm not advocating to move Byfield off the top line, but if you are the coach where are you gonna put Vilardi, Moore and Kaliyev when they come back? You want those 3 to be the new 4th line cause Fagemo, Turcotte and Kupari are gonna be back to Ontario.

This nice to think about, but there's pretty much someone injured all the time. You can't underestimate the importance of injuries to the success of a team. That's why Blake assembled a deep lineup. People get so pissed here about stacking a bunch of vets in the way of the kids, not playing the kids, etc. This is just a feature of a GM taking into account the impact of injuries. Turns out the kids are still getting plenty of minutes.

Imagine where this team would be in the standings if it was short two or three forwards that weren't picked up during the past two years. We'd be seeing the likes of Dudas or Wagner or Tynan or Thompson skating around right now.

 

[Nasti]

In defense of those criticizing the Fiala trade, I don’t think the criticism is necessarily about who’s the better player. Asset management is completely separate from that. It doesn’t matter if Faber ends up being an all star or a bust. His current value is high for a prospect so was it right to move him for a player like Fiala vs another need.

 

[Docgonzo]

I dunno. I think Arvidsson has played much better compared to earlier in the season.

Though I do think there is an opportunity to further spread the ice time and opportunity of getting young players with vets. For example:

Byfield - Kopitar - Kempe
Iafallo - Danault - Anderson-Dolan
Fiala - Lizotte - Fagemo
Kupari - Turcotte - Arvidsson

Not so much a demotion for Arvidsson, if time were spread out more evenly. But JAD, as a two-way player, should fit in just fine with Iafallo and Danault. Fiala and his playmaking ability would go well with a high-volume shooter. Turcotte and Kupari have a more stabilizing offensive tool with Arvidsson to help them along further.

Byfield - Kopitar - Moore
Iafallo - Danault - Kempe
Fiala - Turcotte - Vilardi

Is what I’d like to see once everyone is healthy but then what happens when what happens with that 4th line.. Kaliyev has to be in right, then Arvy, Lizotte , JAD, Tonka, Pepe..

Someone needs to go and it’s not just because of numbers but because some of the kids have proven they belong now.

Why do you guys want to put our 4th highest scorer on the 4th line? There’s no way ice time will ever been even enough to justify that.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Who knows what is going on Parik? He is in the ECHL so maybe he needed to go to a different team's camp, see it wasn't just LA that didn't like something, and adjust or he just isn't that good.

As for the need, there wasn't a gap between goalies until Petersen and the draft picks face planted...which hadn't happened 3-4 years ago.

Kings will do what most teams do now that they don't have Quick next season.. draft a guy for the future and sign a guy for the present every off-season until they have two youngish guys in the NHL with at least one young guy in the AHL. Goalies are too finicky to do anything different.

Okay, but this is arguing FOR me, not against me, haha.

Which of those draft picks was supposed to take over? They were all deep pick lotto tickets. None of them were panning out. the draft picks NOT face planting would have been more surprising.

Quick is/was heading for retirement, they placed all their hopes on Petersen. Behind him they just keep churning replacement-level or worse goaltending and have no notable prospects in the system.

"Most teams" don't do this, teams that are floundering do. Even teams like Colorado have Annunen marinating in the minors, Vegas was comfortable moving Thompson up post-Lehner and Fleury, Boston has Ullmark AND Swayman, and so on...the only teams with f***around goaltending with huge age gaps and no discernable succession plans are in the same boat as us, eminently flawed wildcard/low seed/blackhole teams or worse. No offense but "goalies are too finicky to do anything different" sounds like an apologetic level of comfort with the lack of near-future and succession plans.

 

[King'sPawn]

Why do you guys want to put our 4th highest scorer on the 4th line? There’s no way ice time will ever been even enough to justify that.

It's not necessarily Arvidsson, just it would be the best example. But overall, I think it's constructive to have reliable veteran talent to play with the youth.

And Arvidsson would get powerplay time, as well. It's not like he'd JUST get 10-12 minutes a game.

But it could also be something as easy as this:

Byfield - Kopitar - Kempe
Kupari - Danault - Arvidsson
Fiala - Lizotte - JAD
Iafallo - Turcotte - Fagemo

OR

Byfield - Kopitar - Kempe
Fiala - Turcotte - Arvidsson
Iafallo - Danault - JAD
Kupari - Lizotte - Fagemo

The overall point is to mix veteran and youth, so the young players have a reliable veteran to fall back on and help them along the way. Those who get "reduced" even strength time still get special teams. The Kings have depth. It's about time they utilize it to 1) compete immediately, as they clearly plan to do and 2) prop up the prospects to help them develop further, so they can further compete down the road.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

In defense of those criticizing the Fiala trade, I don’t think the criticism is necessarily about who’s the better player. Asset management is completely separate from that. It doesn’t matter if Faber ends up being an all star or a bust. His current value is high for a prospect so was it right to move him for a player like Fiala vs another need.

Fiala leads the team in scoring...the biggest weakness this team had last year was scoring...I feel like I'm in the f***ing Twilight Zone.

 

[kings11]

Why do you guys want to put our 4th highest scorer on the 4th line? There’s no way ice time will ever been even enough to justify that.

Why do people assume that he’s that valuable? Remove him from Danulat and he plays like shit. And that’s if you overlook his constant brain farts ala Durzi but he scores right?
Or did no one bother to read why I would move him off that line? You know, like.. he’s physically weak and gets pushed around, he’s a volume shooter that misses the net a @50% clip and it usually causes a rush the other way, the fact that he gets hemmed up far too often but most importantly, guys like Kaliyev and Vilardi have shown they should play above him. There’s nothing about Arvy’s game that makes him indispensable. If there is please let me know

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Why do people assume that he’s that valuable? Remove him from Danulat and he plays like shit. And that’s if you overlook his constant brain farts ala Durzi but he scores right?
Or did no one bother to read why I would move him off that line? You know, like.. he’s physically weak and gets pushed around, he’s a volume shooter that misses the net a @50% clip and it usually causes a rush the other way, the fact that he gets hemmed up far too often but most importantly, guys like Kaliyev and Vilardi have shown they should play above him. There’s nothing about Arvy’s game that makes him indispensable. If there is please let me know

Yet everyone said that we would would taken the EDM series if he was in the lineup .... interesting.

 

[kings11]

Yet everyone said that we would would taken the EDM series if he was in the lineup .... interesting.

If we had Doughty it would have been possible but everyone has a short memory and absolutely forgets that VA was brutal in Nsh during their PO runs…

 

[Statto]

Sorry, you aren't supposed to do it that way.

So far, the trade looks great. And it's easy to like the trade. Fiala's ability is realized right now.

It will be interesting to see how the first round pick and Faber get realized down the road, which has been the biggest question.

I never worry about the pick because we’d most likely take a different player than MN anyway. As soon as it was clear Fiala was going to play well here it became a great trade, perhaps for both sides. MN needed cap space and got 2 decent assets and we acquired a rarely available skilled winger at the right age. The way I see it, if Faber hits his ceiling and MN make a decent pick (for the mid 1st rounds) it’s at worst am even trade.

 

[Docgonzo]

If we had Doughty it would have been possible but everyone has a short memory and absolutely forgets that VA was brutal in Nsh during their PO runs…

He hat 13 points in 23 games, 3rd best on the team. And then 9 points in 13 games, tied for 1st. Followed by no points in 6 games but then followed up by 3 goals in 4 games. And I think those last 2 season are when he had the injury issues.

Where is the brutal? Only reason that’s brutal if you think he’s a 1st line star player. That’s perfectly fine for a 2nd line which is what Arvy is, a good 2nd line 50ish point player.

 

[YP44]

It's not necessarily Arvidsson, just it would be the best example. But overall, I think it's constructive to have reliable veteran talent to play with the youth.

And Arvidsson would get powerplay time, as well. It's not like he'd JUST get 10-12 minutes a game.

But it could also be something as easy as this:

Byfield - Kopitar - Kempe
Kupari - Danault - Arvidsson
Fiala - Lizotte - JAD
Iafallo - Turcotte - Fagemo

OR

Byfield - Kopitar - Kempe
Fiala - Turcotte - Arvidsson
Iafallo - Danault - JAD
Kupari - Lizotte - Fagemo

The overall point is to mix veteran and youth, so the young players have a reliable veteran to fall back on and help them along the way. Those who get "reduced" even strength time still get special teams. The Kings have depth. It's about time they utilize it to 1) compete immediately, as they clearly plan to do and 2) prop up the prospects to help them develop further, so they can further compete down the road.

Once LA gets some healthy forwards back it will be a moot point, but in no way is Turcotte ready for 2nd line. Get your point of putting vet with youth, but right now with injuries LA is not in a position to roll four lines IMO. Till everyone is back we should a big discrepancy between first and fourth line ice time.

I like the mentorship between Kopitar and Byfield. Seeing them go over things and plays on the bench is what we need. Byfield needs to learn the top line and to be utilized as a top 6 forward. Hoping he doesn't get bumped down after guys come back from injuries.

but i was told Kopitar is a shit leader?

 

[Kudelski37]

Okay, but this is arguing FOR me, not against me, haha.

Which of those draft picks was supposed to take over? They were all deep pick lotto tickets. None of them were panning out. the draft picks NOT face planting would have been more surprising.

Quick is/was heading for retirement, they placed all their hopes on Petersen. Behind him they just keep churning replacement-level or worse goaltending and have no notable prospects in the system.

"Most teams" don't do this, teams that are floundering do. Even teams like Colorado have Annunen marinating in the minors, Vegas was comfortable moving Thompson up post-Lehner and Fleury, Boston has Ullmark AND Swayman, and so on...the only teams with f***around goaltending with huge age gaps and no discernable succession plans are in the same boat as us, eminently flawed wildcard/low seed/blackhole teams or worse. No offense but "goalies are too finicky to do anything different" sounds like an apologetic level of comfort with the lack of near-future and succession plans.

This isn't arguing for you since you didn't like Parik being loaned to another AHL team...that he didn't even make. He went to the ECHL and has put up the same save % (.905) as Quick at the same age in the same league. Who knows what his future is.

You list Swayman (drafted #111,well after Vilalta in the same draft) and Thompson(undrafted). Yes, they are good so draft position isn't meaningful for goalies which is why I believe the process is right. The Kings have spent good picks on the position so it isn't ignoring an issue. The Kings have drafted two goalies in the top 82 picks, one at 112, and two later. They haven't panned out yet so the scouting of goalies has gone wrong and/or development has.

As for other teams, you either have a franchise goalies or you are looking for another goalie. There are only a handful of franchise goalies, so most teams, even playoff teams, churn through goalies year after year until they find one. Avalanche traded for a rental to win the cup. The Caps have churned through a bunch, including first round pick Samsonov, since Holtby fell apart. They went churned through a bunch before Holtby too, including first round pick Varlamov. Everyone knows about Toronto, St. Louis, and Edmonton.

I agree goaltending needs to be replenished. I disagree it has been ignored. It looks like the Kings just haven't drafted the right guys.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Sorry, you aren't supposed to do it that way.

So far, the trade looks great. And it's easy to like the trade. Fiala's ability is realized right now.

It will be interesting to see how the first round pick and Faber get realized down the road, which has been the biggest question.

Thats a significant portion of the value in the trade I think gets overlooked. To truly evaluate you wait and compare assets in 10 years - plus factor in having Fiala at his peak right now. Not much different than calculating the interest you pay on a car loan - price you pay to have the car now. So that would mean asset-wise Faber + 1st should be noticeably more valuable than Fiala.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

He hat 13 points in 23 games, 3rd best on the team. And then 9 points in 13 games, tied for 1st. Followed by no points in 6 games but then followed up by 3 goals in 4 games. And I think those last 2 season are when he had the injury issues.

Where is the brutal? Only reason that’s brutal if you think he’s a 1st line star player. That’s perfectly fine for a 2nd line which is what Arvy is, a good 2nd line 50ish point player.

How dare you bore us with reality.....

 

[kings11]

He hat 13 points in 23 games, 3rd best on the team. And then 9 points in 13 games, tied for 1st. Followed by no points in 6 games but then followed up by 3 goals in 4 games. And I think those last 2 season are when he had the injury issues.

Where is the brutal? Only reason that’s brutal if you think he’s a 1st line star player. That’s perfectly fine for a 2nd line which is what Arvy is, a good 2nd line 50ish point player.

He had 13 pts in 22 g during their cup run where he had 3 pts in the finals and was a -10.. 12 pts in 26 games over the next 4 playoffs and 3 pts the last three runs.. he was injured the last run

And again, selective reading doesn’t take away the fact that the guys literally does everything I mentioned in the previous thread. We have better options, he’s on the 2nd line because it clicked but so did
AI-PD-AK and at a better rate. Minus Moore, that line has gone to shit. He hasn’t shown he can play away from Phil and with the kids pushing he really needs to.

 

[YP44]

based on comments here did we win or lose the game?

 

[Telos]

but i was told Kopitar is a shit leader?

I mean, I personally wouldn't call him shit, but I do think that Kopitar is on the mid to weaker side of the spectrum of Kings captains. However, teaching a rookie how to do your job and being captain of the team are two different things. Byfield's worth is far beyond the pick used to select him or his trade value; but the team would have to pay dearly to replace Kopitar if he fails to be able to be a top 6 center on the team as we have no one other than a miraculous rebirth of Turcotte that could come close.

 

[King'sPawn]

Once LA gets some healthy forwards back it will be a moot point, but in no way is Turcotte ready for 2nd line. Get your point of putting vet with youth, but right now with injuries LA is not in a position to roll four lines IMO. Till everyone is back we should a big discrepancy between first and fourth line ice time.

Not sure I agree with this. The key injuries up front are with Moore, Kaliyev, and Grundstrom. Moore is a vet at this point, but Kaliyev and Grundstrom are journeymen at best.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for 15-15-15-15 ice time among all forwards. But is a 17-16-14-13 ratio that absurd? Especially if someone on "the fourth line" gets powerplay and/or penalty kill time, you'll still get some of the younger players a significant reduction in ice time if you don't feel they are large impact players, but you are working with them to get them to the point of being an impact player.

Turcotte on the "second line" was just an example, by the way. There were concerns about having Arvidsson on the "fourth line". When all it's really about is taking advantage of the depth LA has.

 

[Nasti]

Fiala leads the team in scoring...the biggest weakness this team had last year was scoring...I feel like I'm in the f***ing Twilight Zone.

I wish you were, but nope, looks like you’re still here.